"Will someone please have mercy on me and cut me down. It's so hard for me to stand. I'd gladly spend my last days as firewood and keep you warm on a cold winter night."
Growing old plays no favorites. It happens to the king, the queen, and the tree.
My friends agree that aging is a prankster. One day it jumps out of a box and scares us half to death. It hurts physically and psychologically when we have trouble doing little things like twisting the lid off a jar of pickles and when our feet, knees and hips hurt. Thus begins our trudge up the steep hill.
We girls create an aging disadvantage for ourselves. When we were young and cute, we started drawing lines around our eyes, brushed our eyelids with sparkly hues to match our clothes, and smeared on the hottest brand of age-defying goop to raise the bar on Cute. Then, when we weren't looking, the years trickled away and the day arrived when we actually DO NEED the paint can. But, by now, the brushing, drawing, and painting has burgeoned into a dreaded daily chore. It's time-consuming. It's expensive. I'm weary of it.
The only thing to do is come up with a plan. I'm intentionally making occasional public appearances without my familiar eye makeup. It's scary, but so far I'm not aware that anyone has died. I'm coming out with a simple, even lower-maintenance version of Me.
We all try so hard to look our best, just like this poor old tree, but we know the day will come when we just can't anymore. Up until then, probably our best advice is to wear a smile. That's definitely the only facial decoration we need to look young, to look happy, and to look beautiful.
"A smile is an inexpensive way
to change our looks."
~Charles Gordy
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| PHOTO OF THE DAY No longer can I ring No more echoing of my chime |